Rosemary Cwalinski

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This
fundraiser is for Nick Lucanegro, a now 62 year old man who is serving a 20
year jail sentence in a Florida prison. Even before his conviction, Nick
suffered from multiple medical issues, but since his incarceration, his pain
has increased and his mobility is even more limited. Nick cannot eat his
meals in the mess hall because his mobility using a walker is such
that he would never make it there on time.

The worst part of Nick’s nightmare is that
on a daily basis, he is faced with the hopelessness that comes with having to
serve a very long sentence which is senseless, thanks to Florida’s 10-20-Life
law.

In 2007, an accidental discharge of Nick’s
service weapon, which occurred when he was trying to disarm his (then)
girlfriend, was the basis for the local prosecutor charging Nick
under the 10-20-Life law. At that time, the law required
a judge to sentence anyone convicted of “aggravated
assault” where a firearm was discharged to 20 years ail. Period.
No questions asked. No allowance made for the actual
circumstances. No judicial discretion. Although the law was changed
last year to remove “aggravated assault” from the felonies subject to
this mandatory minimum sentence, this change of law has not - and will not -
benefit Nick in his predicament. Why? Because the legislature did
not make the change of law retroactive.

Nick's release date is in October, 2030.
The only way he can get out any earlier is if the Governor of Florida and
the Clemency Board grant him a commutation of sentence through the clemency
process.

This why we are asking you to donate. Nick's
clemency petition will have to be put together by a clemency attorney, and the
attorney charges a fee that neither Nick nor his family can afford. Nick's savings
have been eaten up by attorneys' fees for the original trial, the first appeal,
and the 3.850 appeal (all of which were unsuccessful.)

Knowing our Nick is in prison is
shocking to us. We just cannot believe the progression of events that led
to his incarceration. First, we can't believe that this could happen to a
guy like Nick. Second, we can't believe that there are hundreds of others
like him, victims of Florida's 10-20-Life law, which was enacted with serious
criminals in mind, but which has been applied to people who are anything but
that.
​

We firmly believe that Nick was
unjustly charged to begin with, and we are still shaking our heads as to why
the State Attorney's office would have thrown the charges at him that they
did, given the circumstances surrounding his arrest, and given the
"victim's" story, with its many statements that defy logic and common
sense. It is an uncontroverted fact that the officer who responded to the
scene reported that there were no injuries to Nick’s accuser.

The State Attorney's office knew that a
conviction for "aggravated assault with a deadly weapon" carried a 20
year mandatory minimum jail sentence. We are frustrated and saddened by
the prosecutors' choices and amazed that Nick was ever convicted . . . proving,
once again, that in Florida, anything is possible.
Following a one day trial, Nick was
convicted of two separate felony charges: 1. Aggravated assault with a
deadly weapon (requiring a 20 year mandatory minimum jail sentence). 2.
Shooting within a dwelling.

That's right, a one day trial put a man away for
twenty years. The jury did not convict him of battery (domestic
violence) which was the third charge brought by the prosecution.

The State Attorney had initially offered
Nick a plea deal, but that deal involved a three year jail term, and Nick (a
principled man who knew that he had done nothing wrong) rejected the offer.
He felt that since he had only tried to defend himself from being shot,
the jury would see through the falsity of the "victim's" allegations
and acquit him. He knew that his then-girlfriend was taking medication
for a mental health issue, because she had told him. He knew that she had
alcohol in her system that fateful night. And he knew that she had turned on
him, in his own house, with his own weapon.

The Nick we know is a gentle, giving
person with a large circle of friends. He was the first person to help
out anyone in a bind. He is an animal lover. Our friend is the
hapless victim of a he said/she said scenario in which she was scared for her
own future and therefore hid the truth about her own actions by pointing the
finger at him.

Please help us give Nick some good news -
that we will be able to pay an attorney for his clemency effort. God
Bless.